One of the current web best practices is for advertisers to plant a cookie on your machine when you visit a website. They tell you it’s to track your preferences so you don’t have to re-enter data and it also allows them to tailor your experience so the products or...

Many people displaced by the Great Recession are looking into purchasing franchises to replace their income. For many people whose primary work experience has been in corporations, franchises are appealing because they are a ‘business in a box’. For the payment of a...

In the pursuit of multi-million dollar outsourcing contracts, the company I worked for required me to defend my financial projections. The auditor who usually ran these reviews was one of the kindest, yet toughest, auditors I’ve ever worked with. He’d always start...

“Play that part the way it is on the record,” he said, his face getting red. The drum part in question, in a song I can’t even remember now, was a mistake on the part of the drummer who recorded it. It was almost impossible to duplicate. But John wasn’t hearing it....

If you’re on Linked In you’ve gotten them. The notes from people that you linked up with because you met them once at a mixer or because they knew someone you knew, or, let’s be honest, because you wanted to see that ‘500+ connections’ next to your name. Some of them...

Growing top line revenue is survival. Without setting the table, you have no chance to make a profit, or even just stay in the game. With so much hype around the Internet and social media, more established forms of marketing are being discounted. Yet the elevation of...

I once had a meeting with a struggling manufacturer. We spent over an hour discussing his operations, the market conditions and the general health of the company. I had some ideas for both quick hits and longer term investments that the owner agreed with, no, was...

A friend of mine, once honored for his business accomplishments, was asked what advice he would give to those starting a business. With a wry smile he said, “Don’t do it.” This friend, now prosperous, had a long and difficult climb. An immigrant, he had fits and...

‘Start out how you mean to go on.’ I heard those words frequently growing up. When starting a business, this phrase needs to become an entrepreneur’s mantra. While I believe it applies to everything from romance to building an enterprise, let’s look at three specific...

Mrs. Mehit and I attended a Tech Coast Angels entrepreneur’s outreach event at Cisco’s campus in Irvine. The intent of the evening was to give those new to TCA a taste of how their process works. As part of the evening, participants were allowed to give two minute...